Embrace The Change: MIDLANDS Should be Folkstyle "Worlds/Olympics"

 Let's face it, things have changed and they aren't going back to the way they were. The Midlands was canceled this year & in it's place we got the Matmen Invitational. Some are calling for the tournament to replace the Midlands. I don't see that happening. Yet, knowing who and what is involved in the Matmen invitational, I also know that it isn't going anywhere either. It's here and it's here to stay. On top of it, we almost had another tournament this year, the Hawkeye Open.  One was, one was projected to be successful. It's inevitable.  While we've enjoyed two major tournaments this time of year for many seasons, the Midlands and the Southern Scuffle, from here on out, we're going to have four.  Our end of December beginning of January will look like this.

The Midlands
The Matmen Invitational
The Hawkeye Open
The Southern Scuffle 

While I don't think this is going to effect the Southern Scuffle much, it is going to have a large scale effect on the Midlands.  I'm not sure if the Matmen Invitational is going to have a set location & be where it was this season, every season or if it might find another home. The Hawkeye Open is going to be in the Iowa City/Coralville area every season. You can count on that.   This means that teams that would have otherwise gone Midlands in the past, are now going to potentially go to the other two tournaments.  Like with the Scuffle & the Midlands teams will switch it up from year to year, but competing with one tournament for teams, is different than competing with three.  

Cons already established, there are pros here too.  For one, it opens up the doors for other teams to win the Midlands title.  Face it, with a few other teams here and there winning titles, the Midlands has been all but owned by Iowa since 1974.  If they didn't win it, they finished pretty high. 

The other potential HUGE plus, is that the Midlands could potentially again be the home for post-graduate competition.  For years and years and years it WAS.  Go back and study the history of the Midlands and you'll see a whole mess of guys who had long since graduated from college competing in the championships.  We're not just talking recently graduated either.  You have wrestlers 5, 10, sometimes more years post graduation competing.  That's what the Midlands used to be all about. 

The other day on twitter  American Head Coach Jason Borrelli said that he'd like to see folkstyle wrestling at the Worlds/Olympics.  As much as I love Jason Borrelli and consider him to be one of my favorite coaches/people in amateur wrestling, I disagree with him.  American folkstyle at the Olympic and World level makes zero sense. One can argue that many countries have folkstyle wrestling, but it is their own unique folkstyle wrestling, in and of itself.  Folkstyle wrestling in the United States is nothing like folkstyle wrestling in another country. Different rules, different regulations, different scoring system...key word here...DIFFERENT.   

What DOES make sense and what would be great, is for the Midlands to be the folkstyle "Worlds" if you will. Or if you don't like the term, let's not argue semantics, call it what ever you want.  A tournament featuring international stars against collegiate stars in folkstyle wrestling.    

At the Matmen invitational we got to see post-grad Mark Hall in action.  Imagine a tournament where he's not one of one, he's one of many.  Where each bracket has a multitude of post-grads.  Where today's top collegiate stars are taking on yesterday's top collegiate stars.  I'm sure you've imagined what it would be like if a top wrestler from now took on a top wrestler from then.  

Tommy Rowlands or Steve Mocco Vs Gable Steveson
Cael Sanderson Vs A.J. Ferrari 

Maybe my years are a little off here, but you get the idea.  Can you imagine what if we got to see this sort of action year in and year out?  It'd be extremely exciting and fun.  Talk about the anticipation and the hype.  

One way or the other, things have change.  The Midlands can't stay as it is.  It's going to have to do something.  Maybe this isn't the answer, but I sure would like to see it explored. 

**Later this Spring & Summer after the wrestling season is over, I will be doing a series called, "Post Grads At the Midlands" which will illustrate what I mean by the Midlands at one time was a home for post-graduate competition. ***

JT#1's Notes, Thoughts and Observations for Week 8 of Collegiate Wrestling (12/20-26/2021)

 This is going to be short and sweet. There's a lot I could say about this week in wrestling but I'm not going to for two reasons.  First off, this is late.  Really late. Over the Christmas break, I took a break from wrestling and spent a lot of time with my girlfriend, mom, stepdad, Grandpa Harry, my dog Ruby and my cat Marquee. Sat down and watched some movies, haven't done that in a while.  Had to catch up on what all happened this weekend, rather than following it as it happens like I usually do.  Secondly, I have to go to my shoot job here in a bit and am pressed for time.  So this week's recap is only going to focus on one thing.  

There's obviously something not right with Kaleb Young. I don't know what it is, but I'm almost 100% positive it isn't anything physical. This guy has a tremendous amount of talent and ability and the credentials that he has earned thus far as a Hawkeye more than prove it. Yet this season, something's missing.  He doesn't have it together mentally.  I've been racking my brain trying to figure out why and what needs to be done to turn it around.  I am a nobody from nowhere who never did anything, so my opinion ain't worth much, if it's worth anything at all, but I want to see Young do well. I want to see him succeed.  Next to wrestler's career being hampered by injuries, if there's anything I can't stand it's when the worst season of a wrestler is his/her last.  

I really thought that the Midlands might be the answer to Young's issue. Despite whatever else has happened during the season, Young has always wrestled well in Chicago.  5-5-2-1 thus far, I trust that he would have had a good tournament, restored his faith and confidence in himself and second half of the season, we'd have seen the old Young. That was my hope.  Then I heard that Iowa wasn't going to wrestle their starters & even worse,  that the Midlands was canceled. Maybe Young will compete at the Hawkeye Open this weekend & that will take the place of the Midlands. I don't know.

Some people are ready to give up on Young. Good for them. That's their right. I'm not one of those people. He's still the guy that made the BIG 10 finals. He's still the guy that has earned two All American honors from the NCAA championships. He's STILL that guy. It's just a matter of channeling his inner spirit. A matter of Young finding himself again.   

In a lot of ways Young's journey reminds me of Rocky in ROCKY III.  Rocky had lost his edge, his belief in himself and he had to dig deep to find himself.  He didn't do it alone either. He had the help of his friend Apollo. 

No one is asking me. No one is going to ask me.  My opinion ain't worth the penny you found on the ground earlier today.  That's fine, I'm not making you read this, you chose to.  So here is what I would do.  Here's something, I'd try. 

I'd give Young a few days off from practice. His issues aren't physical. He's plenty strong, well conditioned, ect.  Two or three days off from practice wouldn't hurt him any.  I'd have him spend the time with Dan Gable. If anyone knows how to get the best out of a person, how to motivate and inspire them, it's Gable. Gable always got the best out of his wrestlers.  If anyone can channel Young's spirit, I think it's Dan Gable.  That's what I would do. 

Whatever Brands & Co decide to do with Young, I support it and I hope it works.  Young's good enough to make the BIG 10 finals again and earn his third All American award.  By year's end, I sure hope that's what we get to see. 

Southern Scuffle Preview HWT

 

#1 Gable Steveson 
Minnesota

If Minnesota's Gable Steveson wrestles, it's a said and done deal. No one's touching him. The only points anyone will score on him are escapes that he wants them to have. He'll tear through the competition like a Grizzly Bear against fawns. It'll be a massacre. 

I think it will be one of two people.  Either Virginia Tech's Nathan Traxler, who has already been a Southern Scuffle runner-up twice during his career or Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force.  Both wrestlers have been R12 at the NCAA's in their career, as top contenders for All American status this season. A runner-up finish at the Scuffle would be great for both their ranking & future seeding.  This is a likely semi-final match that I look very forward to. 

So now we're left with who will the other five Southern Scuffle place-winners be?  Currently redshirting, if Rider's Ethan Laird wrestles in this tournament I think he'll prove himself to be the next in line. Based on prior results, he's not beating Traxler & I highly doubt he's beating Hendrickson, but there isn't anyone else in this bracket that he can't beat. Among his victories, he owns a 3-2 decision over Zach Elam of Missouri. Laird, like both Hendrickson and Traxler is a R12 NCAA wrestler. 

Speaking of Elam, I would call him the next best in line if we're trying to do this in some sort of order.  Like Traxler, Hendrickson and Laird, he took has made the NCAA R12 during his career. I guess HWT Southern Scuffle is a collection of top 12 wrestlers looking to push through into the top eight.  Elam is 3-0 Vs Brandon Metz of North Dakota State who took 4th at the last Scuffle. 

Lewis Fernandes of Cornell as well as teammate Brendan Furman are both place-winner candidates. 

I would call Michael Wolfgram of West Virginia one of the most improved wrestlers in the nation. He's currently 13-1 on the season with some impressive victories under his belt. Wouldn't at all be surprised to see him rack up a few more here. 

North Carolina State's Owen Trephan will contend for a medal and so will his backup Deonte Wilson, who already owns a 7th place medal from the Scuffle. 

Metz, already mentioned has placed high here in the past & is likely to wrestle again.  

South Dakota State's A.J. Nevills who is 1-1 with Metz overall gives us yet another candidate for a place-winner. 

Overall HWT is the weight class where I am most curious to see who makes the award stand and who doesn't.   

Other candidates include....

#29 Zach Schrader Maryland 
#33 Luke Surber and Austin Harris of Oklahoma State
Peter Ming & Seamus O'Malley Stanford
Michael McAleavey The Citadel
Hunter Catka Virginia Tech
Ryan Vasbinder Michigan State

2022 Southern Scuffle Preview 133 lbs

At 133 lbs in the Scuffle we have a clear #1 and a clear #2, at least on paper.  Oklahoma State's Daton Fix, who already owns a Southern Scuffle title is the favorite. While he's had to settle for silver in two NCAA tournaments, here he'll find his gold.  His only viable competition will come from Virginia Tech's Korbin Myers, who in his own right has been pretty dominant against the competition.  Very confident this is the finals match we will see. 

 If you study the place-winner candidates of this weight class it really helps to illustrate and give forth testimony to just how incredibly tough it is to even make the varsity position of a Division I school.  For example, Jamie Hernandez of North Carolina is a candidate for a Scuffle medal, but honestly so is his backup Joe Heilmann.  Same can be said for North Carolina State's Kai Orine, who has a high probability of placing. So does his backup, Jarrett Trombley. Hell, look at Sean Russell of Appalachian State, his backup Sean Carter took 7th place at the last Scuffle!  

As he continues to adjust to the 133 lbs weight class Rayvon Foley of Michigan State who was an All American a few seasons ago at 125 lbs will continue to climb that rankings ladder. I cannot see him defeating Myers and I can't even fathom the idea of him defeating Fix, but I think he can be as good as 3rd here. 

Then there is "Take a" Chance Rich of CSU-Bakersfield who every season thus far has always had shining moments.  Two seasons ago he stuck Sammy Alvarez of Rutgers (who went on to win the Southern Scuffle later on that year ironically enough) & last year he upended All American Michael McGee of Arizona State at the PAC-12 championships. It's inevitable that he's gonna do something of note again this season & the Scuffle is a place to do it. 

Others to watch for...

#26 Kellyn March of North Dakota State
#27 Jared Van Vleet of Air Force
#28 Richie Koehler of Rider
#29 Jackson DiSario of Stanford
#30 Dominic LaJoie of Cornell
Angelo Rini of Columbia 
Derek Spann of Buffalo 
Jake Gliva of Minnesota (Who recently had a very nice 6th place showing at CKLV) 

2022 Southern Scuffle Preview 197 lbs

#1 A.J. Ferrari 
Oklahoma State 

The man to beat at 197 lbs.  It makes one question, is there anyone in NCAA DI wrestling that can challenge Oklahoma State's A.J. Ferrari? Is there any bronco out there, wild enough a horse that this Cowboy can't tame? Or like Gable Steveson of Minnesota, and other past wrestlers such as Stephen Abas of Fresno State and former OSU great Alex Dieringer, do we just sit back and watch him go undefeated throughout the remainder of his career?  That is the question. 

If he was 100% healthy and 100% ready to go, I guarantee you Cornell's Ben Darmstadt could give Ferrari a run for his money.  We'll most likely not see him at the Scuffle and it's a wonder as to when or even if we'll see him back in action again. Ability wise though, he'd be a challenge for Ferrari.  

Rocky Elam of Missouri? I'll give that realm of possibility and the guy that Ferrari really needs to be weary of is North Carolina State's Isaac Trumble.  I don't know if the wrestling community is fully aware of how good this guy really is. Don't let the odd 10-2 loss to Binghamton's Louie DePrez fool you. A lot of wrestlers in their first couple of years sometimes have those types of losses as they discover themselves out on the collegiate mats. His recent 3-2 loss to Iowa's two time All American Jacob Warner, chalk it up to experience overcoming rookie mistakes. This guy is good, real good. He has yet to redshirt & with the extra year I guess you'd have to still call him a 'true' freshman.  Mark my words, before his career is all said and done, he will win a national title. I say he's already good enough to give Ferrari a run for his $$. We could very well find out at the scuffle! 

Our other place-winners?  

I'm not sure if the Southern Scuffle does a Gorriaran Award or the equivalent of or not, but if they do, you may very well be looking at the man who's going to win it when you look at North Dakota State's Owen Pentz. 8 victories thus far this season in his 8-2 record, and six of them have been by fall.  

Michigan State's Cam Caffey is always a tough customer, you know he's going to contend for a medal. 

South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan has fallen a bit this season, but it's only a matter of time before he works his way back up that ladder. Is he going to be back to his old self at the Scuffle? It's a very real possibility.  

Alan Clothier of Northern Colorado is one to mention. He's never been favored going into this tournament and yet despite predictions made against him, he's brought home a medal three times. Tha's saying something. The Southern Scuffle is one of the toughest tournaments in the nation, bar none and he could very well end up a four time place-winner. That deserves mention, that deserves recognition, that deserves praise. 

Minnesota's Michial Foy has shown promise with a 9-3 victory over Sloan. The son of two time Olympian & Pan American gold medalist Michial Foy Sr was NJCAA champion for Harper college. 

Two more guys I can see possibly making the award stand are Maryland's Jaron Smith and VMI's Tyler Mousaw.  Smith's entire career has been a battle against injuries and finally in his seventh year of collegiate wrestling he FINALLY looks healthy.  8-2 on the season, I think he ends his season with a winning record and he makes his first trip to the NCAA's. What a treat it'd be for him and Maryland to make the award stand.  

As to Mousaw, he's been one of the  bright lights on the Keydet wrestling team.  He went 12-2 last season and currently has 8 wins on this season. He'd have to wrestle extremely well and pull off some upsets, but I think if VMI is to have a Scuffle place-winner this season, he'd be the one to do it. 

Others to watch for 

#19 Jacob Cardenos Cornell
#29 Max Shaw North Carolina
#32 Dakota Howard Virginia Tech
Andy Smith Virginia Tech
Nick Stemmet Stanford
Matt Correnti Rider
Canton Marriott Missouri
Austin Stith George Mason
Kaden Russell Duke
Kayne Hutchison Air Force 

 

2022 Southern Scuffle Preview 184 lbs

 We got ourselves a three or four man race to the finish line here at 184 lbs. Rankings have North Carolina State's Trent Hidlay far head of both Oklahoma State's Dakota Geer and Virginia Tech's Hunter Bolen, but results tell a different story.  Overall Bolen is 3-1 against Hidlay and Geer owns a 7-5 decision over Bolen.  It'll be interesting to see who ends up on top of the heap when it's all said and done. 

#13 Jonathan Loew
Cornell 

Another guy that could very well win this tournament is Cornell's Jonathan Loew.  The last Hidlay and Loew met, Hidlay won a decisive 20-9 major decision, but this time the outcome could be far different. Loew not only took an impressive 3rd place finish at CKLV, but a mere five days ago he upended Bolen 7-5 sudden victory.  When the tournament is all said and done, I think one of these four guys brings home the gold. 

As to our other place-winners? I think after the top four the weight class opens up quite a bit, but be it 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th place, I find it very difficult to believe that Matt Waddel doesn't end up being one of them. He's a returning place-winner, he's from host Chattanooga and this is his final home tournament. He may not be ranked, but I don't think that makes a difference.  The only way I can see him not placing is if he has a god awful draw and I don't see that happening.  I say he gets on the award stand. 

I'd also like to see Nick Reenan of North Carolina State make the award stand again. When it's all said and done, by year's end, He won't be representing the Wolfpack at the ACC championships. One of our nation's best backups, the Southern Scuffle gives him the opportunity to illustrate the level of depth that NCAA DI teams have and give forth testimony to how good wrestlers truly are, even if they aren't the varsity starter. Already a two time Scuffle place-winner, bringing home a third medal merits an already made solidification.  

Others? 

#15 Jeremiah Kent Missouri
#23 Gavin Kane North Carolina
#28 Layne Malczewski Michigan State
#29 Isaiah Salazar Minnesota
#32 Kyle Cochran Maryland 
Anthony Carman West Virginia 
Zach Brown VMI
Judah Duhm Stanford
George Walton Rider
Bryan Laughlin Drexel
Barrett Blakely Appalachian State
Gavin Henry Davidson
Andrew Berryesa Cornell 

2022 Southern Scuffle Preview 174 lbs

This is certainly the Southern Scuffle 174 lbs final that we could see, although I'm not 100% sold on it.  A former NCAA champion taking on a three time All American, many (myself included) feel is one of the best wrestlers in collegiate wrestling today yet to win an NCAA title. The questions are, can Hidlay defeat the NCAA champ? Can Lewis upend Hidlay, who is going for his second Scuffle title?  Both new to the 174 lbs weight class, if this match does take place, it'll be the first meeting between the two. 

Think about the boost it'd be for the Duke wrestling program if Matt Finesilver were to win this bracket. The Blue Devils could use a shot in the arm and this would be the elixir to breathe some life back into the program. Having missed the last two seasons due to injury, Finesilver hasn't shown any effect. He's currently 17-0 on the season. 

Chris Foca of Cornell is another guy I'd watch out for if I were Lewis or Hidlay.  After suffering a second round upset at CKLV, he rallied off win after win to capture an impressive 3rd place finish that included an 8-2 decision over South Dakota State's Cade DeVos.  He also recently took Lewis into the tiebreakers, dropping a 3-1 decision. 

Foca isn't the only one this season to have taken Lewis into the tiebreakers either.  Missouri's Peyton Mocco also took the Hokie far beyond the 7 minute mark, dropping a 9-6 decision.   

Then of course there is also Oklahoma State's Dustin Plott to consider within all of this too.  He's ranked #9 for a reason. 

#15 Michael O'Malley
Drexel
19
7 

Having already named 7 viable place-winners, it begs the question, who will be the eighth? Not only do I think Drexel's Michael O'Malley can take that 8th place spot, I think he can upset his way to a higher finish.  I said earlier this season that I felt that O'Malley can win an EIWA title for the Dragons this season. I still believe that. Earning a medal from the Scuffle would help in an effort to earn that #1 seed come conference tournament time. 


Others to watch for....

#17 Clay Lautt North Carolina 
#28 Tyler Eischens Stanford
#31 Triston Wills Little Rock 
#33 Thomas Flitz Appalachian State
Scott Joll West Virginia
Jared Krattiger and Bailee O'Reilly of Minnesota
Albert Urias CSU-Bakersfield

Logan Messer George Mason 


 

2022 Southern Scuffle Preview 165 lbs

 

An extremely tough weight class, on the surface our forerunners are Stanford's Shane Griffith who won a title at the last Southern Scuffle, Missouri's Keegan O'Toole and Oklahoma State's Travis Wittlake. O'Toole & Griffith have never met in competition, whereas Griffith owns two similar victories over Wittlake 4-1 & 4-0 & O'Toole owns a 4-3 decision over Wittlake.  

Upsets. They happen. They have happened. They WILL happen. Like a bolt of lightning no one can ever predict exactly when or where one will strike, but we no they're going to happen.  165 lbs, strikes me as a weight class where we're going to see a fair share of upsets.  

Julian Ramirez of Cornell already owns an upset over Griffith, handing the Cardinal his first loss 3-2 after Griffith went 40-1 the past two seasons. I was hoping for a Griffith-Ramirez rematch at CKLV, but Ramirez lost 15-7 in the quarter-finals to Carson Kharchla of Ohio State, who then dropped a 5-4 decision to Griffith in the semi-finals. 

Luke Weber of North Dakota State has already proven their are kinks in the amour of Wittlake, has he pulled off a huge 5-3 sudden victory upset over the Cowboy at least year's BIG 12 championships. 

West Virginia's Peyton Hall also strikes me as one who could very well pull off a huge upset this tournament. A win away from being an All American last season as a true-freshman, he is currently 13-0 on the season. 

Our other place-winners?   Thomas Bullard of North Carolina State is certainly a candidate.  The Wolfpack senior's claim to fame thus far is that he is 3-0 against NCAA finalist Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh. Looking to add accolades to his resume, a medal from the Southern Scuffle would stick out bright and bold. 

Andrew Sparks of Minnesota is a candidate to make the award stand and truth to be known, so is his backup Cael Carlson.

Columbia's Josh Ogunsanya showed us his capabilities with a 7th place finish at CKLV a couple of weeks ago, that included a technical fall over South Dakota State's Tanner Cook and a 5:23 fall over Nebraska's Bubba Wilson.   

These three are far from the only wrestlers who might make the award stand. 


#24 William Formato Appalachian State
#26 Tanner Cook South Dakota State
#30 Evan Barczak Drexel
#31 R.J. Mosley Gardner Webb
Clayton Ulrey Virginia Tech
Selwyn Porter The Citadel
Caleb Fish Michigan State
John Martin Best Maryland 
Tyler Brennan Little Rock
Drew Nicholson Chattanooga

2022 Southern Scuffle Preview 157 lbs

Minnesota's Brayton Lee looks to take the #1 seed here, but he'll more than be challenged as he fights for a title. In this bracket, he not only has returning 2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor of North Carolina but also North Dakota State's Jared Franek, who took him into sudden victory the last time the two met. One of two Darkhorses, Ed Scott of North Carolina State did drop an 11-3 major decision to O'Connor last season, but he has been on a role as of late, recently sticking Iowa All American Kaleb Young in a little over a minute.  Oklahoma State's Wyatt Sheets, another Darkhorse, is 1-1 with Franek having dropped a 7-5 decision and having won a 14-5 major decision. 

If any weight class at the Scuffle is going to have some big surprises, it is 157.  I wouldn't even call these four the top candidates for place-winners, but I would pay very close attention to all four for various reasons. 

Parker Kropman of Drexel is one of those wrestlers that has been sneaking in and out of the rankings his entire career. He'll pop up out of nowhere, as he did when he knocked off Matt Kolodzik of Princeton 3-1 his sophomore season & then he'll lay low for a while.  When the wrestling community isn't expecting much out of him, whammo he'll score another major upset. Is that going to happen at the Scuffle? Well, it WILL happen at some point this year. Kropman's never let us down in the past  Scuffle is as good of a place as any. 

Scott mentioned above is currently 15-1 on the season.  His sole loss? Ironically enough, teammate A.J. Kovacs who owns a 9-8 decision over his workout partner. Kovacs himself is 10-1 & to add to the irony, his only loss on the season is to Scott! 

Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery and that very well could be the case with Peter Pappas of George Mason.  Pappas recently transferred to George Mason from Edinboro. I do not know the backstory and I do not know why, but obviously Pappas needed a change.  Throughout his career Pappas has had many notable wins including Kendall Coleman of Purdue, Graham Rooks of Indiana, Izzak Olejnik of Northern Illinois, Mike Van Brill of Rutgers, Holden Heller of Hofstra and Jordan Slivka of Ohio.  Yet this season he's looked sluggish and unfocused going 2-5.  I'm not expecting Pappas to magically start wrestling extremely well, but I am hoping to see the transfer have a positive effect on his performance. This will be his first competition competing in a Patriot singlet. 

If you've been reading JT#1 for a while, you know that I'm a fan of Dazjon Casto of The Citadel.  He had huge 3-1 victory over Justin Thomas of Oklahoma at CKLV, but then dropped two heartbreakers in a row to Nebraska's Peyton Robb & Navy's Andew Cerniglia to finish one match shy of placing.  This is the Bulldog's last opportunity to get a medal from a major in-season tournament before he graduates this spring. He more than has the talent and ability.  Love to see him make the award stand. 

Other competition that will fight for a medal....

#21 Chase Saldate Michigan State
#22 Connor Brady Virginia Tech 
#23 Jarett Jacques Missouri
#24 Colton Yapoujian Cornell
#32 Cody Bond Appalachian State
Michael Petite Buffalo
Adam Santoro Cornell
Charlie Darracott Stanford
Bryce Sanderlin Davidson
Kyle Mosher Columbia

 

2022 Southern Scuffle Preview 149 lbs

 

#1 Yianni Diakomihalis 
Cornell 

Line them up, one by one, no matter who Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis has had thrown in front of him, he's beaten them. Like he did at CKLV he'll have some close matches, but at the end of the day 0 will still be the number written in the loss column.  

To think that we have two returning Southern Scuffle champions, one of them a two-timer and neither is the odds on favorite to win a title this season. It just goes to show you how good Diakomihalis really is. After a disappointing season last year, Oklahoma State's Kaden Gfeller is back and looking pretty tough, with a recent 9-3 decision over All American Dom Demas of Oklahoma.  His only loss on the season thus far, is to Jaden Abas of Stanford who beat the Cowboy soundly 15-6.  This is not a guaranteed semi-final or even a guaranteed match, but if the two should meet again, I think Gfeller will give him a better match. 

What makes this bracket even more insane, is that not only are returning champions Gfeller and Abas not favored to win, they're not even favored to make the finals. Rankings point to North Carolina State's Tariq Wilson getting the #2 seed and a probability of Appalachian State's Jonathan Millner receiving the #3.  Virginia Tech's Bryce Andonian and Duke's Josh Finesilver will be two more challenges, in the road to even getting on the award stand.  

North Carolina's Zach Sherman has thus far had a rocky start to the season, but it should be noted that his last five matches have all been against top quality competition.  He's lost three 1 point heartbreakers in a row, and recently a 5-2 match to Millner.  Based on a 2-5 record and a lower ranking, he probably won't receive a high seed. Nevertheless, the true calling of a Darkhorse is an entrant of a contest who is not expected to succeed a top level. Talent wise, the Tar Heel can make the finals & those close matches I was saying that Diakomihalis will have this tournament? Sherman is one of them. 

With the eight wrestlers listed above plus some others I'll mention below, it's going to be an extremely tough order for George Mason's Alex Madrigal to find his way back onto the award stand after placing 5th at the last Scuffle.  He's finally starting to get a little bit of respect and recognition, but man in a loaded bracket like this, to place would permanently mean that he'd get the acknowledgement that he deserves. 10-1 on the season, Millner is thus far his only loss. However his season could still use a couple of top notch victories and a top notch performance. This tournament provides plenty of opportunity for both. 


Other talent to watch this tournament...

#23 Josh Edmond of Missouri
#33 Luke Nichter of Drexel
Peyton Omania of Michigan State 
Michael Blockhus of Minnesota
Chris Sandoval of Northern Colorado 

2022 Southern Scuffle Preview 141 lbs

 

We have ourselves a triple threat to the Southern Scuffle title here at 141.  I think the clear #1 seed is Clay Carlson who has thus far taken the 2021-2022 season by storm.  Not only did he defeat Northern Colorado's Andrew Alirez (also in the hunt for a title) by fall for a CKLV title earlier this season, he also owns an 11-4 decision over Real Woods of Stanford.  Doesn't really matter who is the #2 seed and who is the #3, the semi-final between Woods & Alirez will be a slobberknocker.  Woods owns both a championship and a runner-up finish to Alirez owning a runner-up finish himself. 

The Hunt for Red October ain't got nothing on the the hunt for a medal at the Southern Scuffle at 141 lbs. This isn't a battle, it's an all out war.  

Kizhan Clarke of North Carolina has looked very sharp this year, thus far owning a victory over three time NCAA All American Chad Red.  Matt Kazimir of Columbia and Allan Hart of Missouri will both be in the hunt.  In parallel universes Ryan Jack of North Carolina State would already own a victory via fall over Iowa's Jaydin Eierman. He's been pretty impressive thus far this season, let's see how he scuffles. 

CSU-Bakersfield's Angelo Martinoni often shows up with little fanfare or media presence. Despite never being mentioned and always being overlooked, he's achieved quite a bit thus far in his career. He's already placed at the Scuffle once & he recently took an 8th place finish at CKLV.   

Carter Young of Oklahoma State may very well be the starter for the Cowboys and the one with a ranking, but good ole Dusty Hone finished 3rd here in year's past and that should be noted. 

Mosha Schwartz of Northern Colorado, one of the best backups in the country was 7th here before....now he's at Oklahoma...so nevermind. 

And that's not all...

Cody Phippen of Air Force
Anthony Brito of Appalachian State
Jake Bergeland of Minnesota 
#30 Dylan Droegemueller of North Dakota State
#26 Quinn Kinner of Rider 

Will also be in the hunt for a medal.  

2022 Southern Scuffle Preview 125 lbs

 

#3 Vitali Arujau 
Cornell 

One of two men who could possibly pose a threat to Iowa's Spencer Lee by season's end, Cornell's Vitali Arujau has thus far established himself as the man to beat at the Southern Scuffle. Having missed the last two seasons, one may have questioned his capabilities, but after seeing him dismantle NCAA All American Sam Latona of Virginia Tech 12-2 and have his way with NCAA R12 Brody Teske of Northern Iowa 18-7, those questions have subsided. The real question at this point is, who meets him in the finals? 

I see it being one of four wrestlers.  

It very well could turn out to be Latona. Despite the ugly loss to Arujau and having slipped a bit in the rankings, per result, there is an argument on his behalf here.  He owns a 3-1 victory over Pat McKee of Minnesota, he's 4-0 overall against Jakob Camacho of North Carolina State and he's 2-0 against West Virginia's Killian Cardinale. 

McKee has shown us through example at last year's NCAA championships that despite whatever else has happened during the season, he can turn it on in high pressure situations. Enough to overcome Arujau? Don't know, but certainly enough to beat anyone else in the bracket. 

Camacho as noted has yet to defeat Latona, but with some of the out of character losses Latona has suffered this season, Camacho finally getting a W over the Hokie wouldn't surprise me.   

Cardinale is the Darkhorse here, having never defeated Latona or Camacho, yet like McKee showing that he can turn it on in high pressure situations. 

125 lbs is such a shenanigan of parity that it is difficult to predict who will round out our other three place-winners.  In all sense of reality, the candidates for plausible runner-up honestly increase from four to maybe as many as seven.  On the surface that may seem rash, but take the following into consideration; Joe Manchio of Columbia owns a 10-8 victory over Latona on the season and for that matter Missouri's Noah Surtin recently pinned Latona in the first period.  That alone is enough evidence to suggest their capabilities, as Surtin also owns a 7-4 decision of Camacho.  Oklahoma State's Trevor (sorry about above, brother mixup) Mastrogiovanni is yet another candidate for place-winner status as he owns a 10-6 decision over Mckee on the season.  

Appalachian State's Caleb Smith, 5th at the last Scuffle is certainly a candidate to place again. 

#21 Fabian Gutierrez 
Chattanooga 

Having been one match shy of placing at the last two Southern Scuffle's, Fabian Gutierrez of Chattanooga is long overdue to keep a medal at home from his own tournament. Unfortunately it won't be any easier than it was the last two times and he's going to have to wrestle a tremendous tournament to earn it. Win matches that on paper he 'shouldn't win' and turn close losses into wins. 


Others to watch for include...

Surtin's backup Dack Punke of Missouri 
Jace Koelzer of Northern Colorado
Mastrogiovanni's backup Reece Witcraft of Oklahoma State
Tanner Jordan of South Dakota State 

2021 Midlands Preview HWT

Mason Parris of Michigan as of right now is the clear #2 man in the country and until proven otherwise, he'll remain.  He owns two wins over Tony Cassioppi of Iowa, who should be the #2 seed to his #1 & he is 3-0 Vs Trent Hillger of Wisconsin, who I would imagine will be the #3 seed.  Cassioppi is 4-0, in some very convincing victories over Hillger. 

The monkey wrench here is Matt Stencel of Central Michigan. His greatest opponent this season has been injury.  Health has been an issue for him and health is the only reason he isn't being taken more seriously as a threat to the Midlands title.  He's three time place-winner & finalist, plus he owns victories over Parris, Cassioppi and Hillger.  Considering that he was recently hurt in a match with Cassioppi, I highly doubt he'll be 100% at the Midlands. He may not even be wrestling.  What I'm saying is, if he were 100%, he'd be one to watch out for. 

 As to our other place-winners, I think that this bracket will be tougher than the 197 lbs bracket that Lucas Davison placed in a few years back, but nevertheless the Wildcat has been doing pretty well since moving up to HWT.  One of his only losses thus far this season has been to Harvard's Yaraslau Slavilouski who is another likely candidate for a Midlands medal. 

Others include...

#19 Luke Luffman of Illinois
#22 Joe Doyle of Binghamton
#25 Taye Ghadiali of Campbell 
#26 Boone McDermott of Rutgers
#29 Quinn Miller of Virginia 
#30 Jake Slinger of Pittsburgh
#32 Riley Smith of Navy
Ben Sullivan of Army 
Colton McKiernan of SIUE
Jack DeGarbino of Princeton 

2021 Midlands Preview 197 lbs

 This is where things get interesting.  A ton of variables in this weight class, with an abundance of ifs, ands and buts. On the foreground, NCAA runner-up Nino Bonaccorsi looks to be the favorite to win a title here, as he has never faced Iowa's Jacob Warner Warner or Michigan's Pat Brucki, but he is 3-0 against Virginia's Jay Aiello.  Warner looks to possibly be the #2 ahead of Michigan's Pat Brucki, but it is Brucki who is 2-1 against the Hawkeye, with over all better showings at the last three Midlands.  Somewhere in all of this mess, Virginia's Jay Aiello if he shows up after having not wrestled all season fits in.  He's a former Midlands runner-up himself. 

Our other place-winners? Very confident in Binghamton's Louie DePrez & Purdue's Thomas Penola getting onto the award stand. I'd like to think Rutger's Greg Bulsak of Rutgers will be another one.  

Others include 

#16 Luke Stout of Princeton
#25 Matt Wroblewski of Illinois
#27 Braxton Amos of Wisconsin
#28 J.T. Brown of Army who placed 7th in 20
#29 Jake Koser of Navy
#30 Andrew Davison of Northwestern
Levi Hopkins of Campbell
Ben Smith of Cleveland State
Cole Urbas of Pennsylvania 


Any small school guys breaking through onto the award stand? 

#1 in NCAA DIII Cody Baldridge
North Central 

If anyone is going to do it, it is 2021 NCAA DIII champion Cody Baldridge of North Central. It'd take a good draw and wrestling extremely well, but seeing him slip into the 8th place slot among the heavy DI competition is something I could foresee happening. 

2021 Midlands Preview 184 lbs

Mark Hall Post Graduate formally of Penn State 

Going 1-2-2 at the NCAA tournament during his decorated career at Penn State, to my knowledge Mark Hall thus far is the only post graduate I know of that will be competing in this year's Midlands tournament.  As good as he was during his collegiate days & considering that he is only two years removed from graduation, I'd say he's the favorite to win a title. 

 Four individuals stick out as plausible finalists with 2020 Olympic Bronze medalist Myles Amine of Michigan leading the way.  The Wolverine is a four time NCAA All American, having earned three bronze medals there in addition to his Olympic one. If anyone in the bracket can give Hall a match, it's Amine. In college he was 0-5 against the Nittany Lion, but every loss was by 1 point and in their last meeting, he took Hall into the tiebreakers. 

One to not overlook here is Iowa's Abe Assad. After a promising freshman campaign, that included a runner-up finish at the Midlands, Assad missed all of last season due to injury.  This year he's had some struggles, including a loss to a kid still in high school. Like teammate Young, he's in dire need of a huge positive right now and a good showing at the Midlands is the perfect subscription.   

Two others that could break through and make the finals (dependent of being on the opposite side of the bracket of Hall of course) are Northern Illinois' Brit Wilson and Rutger's John Poznanski.  Wilson finished 3rd at the Midlands a couple of tournaments ago & Poznanski, currently 10-0 showed us his skills at the NCAA's last season with a 4th place finish. 

As to other place-winners I believe Cal Poly's Bernie Truax, Illinois' Zach Braunagel and Indiana's D.J. Washington are three of our best candidates.  Tuax, 4th at last year's NCAA tournament has shown how dangerous he can be in high pressure situations.  Braunagel has always fared well at the Midlands, including an impressive 4th place finish at the most recent championships & Washington who placed 6th at 174 lbs, has thus far done a great job since moving up to 184.  He's currently 9-0 on the season. 

Others to watch out for include 

#19 Travis Stefanik of Princeton
#20 Max Lyon of Purdue
#22 Chris Weiler of Wisconsin 
#23 Caleb Hopkins of Campbell
#29 Brad Laughlin of Army
#30 Gregg Harvey of Pittsburgh 
#31 Ethan Duca of Edinboro
#33 David Key of Navy
DeAndre Nassar of Cleveland State
Amine's teammate Jelani Embree of Michigan
Zayne Lehman of Michigan State
Poznanski's teammate Billy Janzer
Michael Battista of Virginia 

#1 in NAIA Ben Lee
Grand View 

If any small school, small division wrestler is going to place at this year's Midlands at 184 lbs, the best bet is Grand View's Ben Lee. Lee recently took a 6th place showing at the Reno tournament of champions. What a statement it would be for him, Grand View and NAIA wrestling as a whole if he were to add a Midlands medal along with it to his resume.